TEACHING FROM A TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACH: A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING IN THE GEOSCIENCES

What is transdisciplinary education and what does it mean for the geosciences? Is it the most recent “fad” in higher education only to fade into the background for the next up-and-coming trend? Or is it potentially the foundation for a fundamentally new approach to thinking, teaching, research, and inquiry in the geosciences? Although the transdisciplinary approach has existed for some time, it has recently become of interest for science related disciplines grappling with complex, global issues such as climate change and environment sustainability. Transdisciplinary thinking and teaching seeks to make connections, stimulate creativity, and develops new ways of interpreting and understanding the world by breaking down the historical boundaries between disciplines. It is flexible and dynamic, seeking to organize processes to incorporate procedures, methodologies, knowledge, and goals from science, industry, and politics. Further, it grounds science in relevant, complex societal problems, having the potential to contribute to sustainable development. Perhaps most importantly, transdisciplinary teaching organizes learning processes between science and society leading to a greater degree of legitimization of science and social acceptability.

In today’s society, problems are increasing complex and contextualized. Learning therefore requires a multi-dimensional approach that must originate from multiple disciplines. Educators must explore ways of using transdisciplinary education as an approach to curriculum design, starting from tangible and real-world problems. This allows students view problems through the lens of multiple disciplinary angles to understand the interrelated relationships of the problem and to develop solutions relying on multiple facets of knowledge – scientific, technological, social, cultural, economic, political, and organizational. This develops critical thinking skills, arranges information, and draws consequences which contribute towards the development of students’ critical and imaginative thinking, creative problem solving, and intercultural understandings. We present an overview of how transdisciplinary thinking might assist the geosciences in developing sustainability learning processes for coping with complex real-world problems.